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Monday, 18 February 2008 13:35
Federal government invests $118 million in R&D partnerships
Ottawa, Ont. - The Government of Canada is investing $118 million over three years in six National Research Council (NRC) technology cluster initiatives, including $36 million earmarked for the NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT).
Government officials say the investment will support research areas including: hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in Vancouver, nanotechnology in Edmonton, plants for health and wellness in Saskatoon, biomedical technologies in Winnipeg, photonics in Ottawa and aluminum transformation in the Saguenay - Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec.
"Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary effort, drawing from fields such as applied physics, materials science, supramolecular chemistry, life sciences and even mechanical and electrical engineering," says Dr. Pierre Coulombe, President of NRC. "Canada will only reap the economic, productivity and health and wellness benefits of this emerging technology by working collaboratively and by approaching partnerships creatively as done here in Edmonton."
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Industry News
Monday, 18 February 2008 13:33
Cooper acquires MTL Instruments Group
Houston, Tex. - Cooper Industries' subsidiary, Cooper Controls (U.K.) Limited, has acquired more than 98 percent of the outstanding shares of The MTL Instruments Group and will exercise its right under U.K. law to acquire the remaining outstanding shares.
MTL develops and supplies instrumentation and protection equipment for use in hazardous environments. According to Cooper Industries chairman and CEO Kirk S. Hachigian, the company believes the transaction will accelerate the growth of Cooper Crouse-Hinds within the global petrochemical and energy markets.
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Industry News
Monday, 18 February 2008 13:32
Industrial manufacturing CEOs confident of business growth
Toronto"- The industrial manufacturing sector is optimistic about its future, with 86 per cent of executives confident of achieving business growth over the next 12 months, according to a new study.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 11th Annual Global CEO Survey also found the top three rated opportunities for contributing to this growth are new product development, geographic expansion and better penetration of existing markets.
The survey also found, however, that industry is currently facing a shortage of highly skilled and trained employees. This is clearly an area of concern, with 62 per cent of respondents anticipating that lack of availability of key skills will become worse and could pose a threat to business growth.
"This is a challenging time for Canadian manufacturers with pricing on goods continuing to decline due the rising Canadian dollar and with the lack of skilled labour companies are feeling the pinch," says Dean Mullett, Canadian Leader Automotive and Industrial Products. "Manufacturing CEOs need to focus attention on investing in their people. Going global and driving technological innovation requires collaboration and strong skill sets. Industrial manufacturing companies need to be proactive in addressing people issues to succeed in the evolving world economy."
Industrial manufacturing CEOs are also keenly aware of the importance of technological innovation with 75 per cent looking to it as a source of competitive advantage, compared with 65 per cent of respondents across all industries.
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Industry News
Thursday, 16 October 2008 09:57
ISA changes name to reflect the changing industry
Research Triangle Park, N.C. - The Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society is no more. But that doesnÃt mean the ISA is going anywhere.
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Industry News
Thursday, 16 October 2008 09:58
Manufacturing sales plummet in August
Ottawa, Ont. - Canadian manufacturers experienced a pull-back in sales in August, erasing any gains the sector has made since December 2007.
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Industry News
Monday, 17 December 2007 10:18
Manufacturing sales inch higher in October
Ottawa"- Manufacturing sales edged up 0.1 per cent in October, holding steady after decreasing in five of the six previous months.
According to a new Statistics Canada report, sales of manufactured goods increased $38 million, reaching $50.2 billion from $50.1 billion in September.
Using constant dollars, which take price fluctuations into account, the volume of sales increased 1.1 per cent to $50.1 billion in October. The Industrial Product Price Index, which is a major component in calculating the constant dollar value, dropped 1.1 per cent in October. Despite difficulties for manufacturers presented by the strengthening exchange rate, constant dollar sales were 3.2 per cent higher than in October 2006.
On an industry-by-industry basis, 12 of 21 manufacturing industries increased in October, representing slightly less than half of total manufacturing sales.
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Industry News
Thursday, 16 October 2008 09:58
Rockwell Automation undertakes restructuring actions
Milwaukee, Wisc. - Rockwell Automation is undergoing a massive restructuring to deal with the current market situation.
Published in
Industry News
Sunday, 28 September 2008 12:28
ISA announces hurricane relief fundraiser
Research Triangle Park, N.C. – In response to the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which hit the Gulf Coast states as a Category 2 storm on Sept. 13, ISA has announced a hurricane relief fundraising program.
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Industry News
Monday, 04 February 2008 08:16
GM launches $120 million automotive training centre
Oshawa, Ont. - General Motors of Canada says its new Automotive Centre of Excellence has taken the next step toward reality, racking up more than $120 million in contributions.
The centre, set to open at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), will be the hub of the broader Automotive Innovation Network linking automotive engineers, auto suppliers and Canadian universities. When completed, the centre will house state-of-the-art research and development tools in the areas of vehicle dynamics, noise and vibration, thermal climatic wind tunnel, structural durability testing and the ability to accommodate future automotive fuels like hydrogen.
"Our vision has been to create a new advanced automotive technology cluster centered at UOIT that links together our best Canadian companies, universities, students and engineers with companies in the Canadian automotive supply chain," says Arturo Elias, president of General Motors of Canada.
The new centre will partner with PACE, (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) a consortium of companies with five partners (GM, EDS, HP, Siemens PLM Software and Sun Microsystems) and 10 other PACE contributors. PACE will provide an initial investment of more than $60 million in state-of-the-art computer-based hardware, engineering software, student and instructor training and academic support. That level of support is expected to grow over time as it is integrated into new curricula. The Ontario government is investing $58 million in the centre as part of its $235 million auto strategy investment.
GM and the Government of Canada also announced further support in the form of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant to co-fund an NSERC-GM of Canada Chair in Innovative Design Engineering. NSERC and GM of Canada will contribute $1 million each over a five-year period, in combination with UOIT's contribution of $250,000, to fund this new academic position.
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News
Friday, 18 April 2008 06:58
SME launches Lean registry
Dearborn, Mich. – The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has launched the Lean Registry, a free community connection and collaboration space for Lean practitioners.
Partnering with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, the SME says it conceived of the registry in 2005 when creating its Lean certification program.
The Lean Registry allows users to post needs/expertise directly to their profile, create virtual groups and make safe connections more easily. Registrants can easily search through shared profiles to find who might match a specific need they have and then send an invitation to connect. Users control if or when to accept a connection and/or share contact information.
To join the Lean Registry go to http://SMEConnection.leveragesoftware.com.
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News
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